The Journal is intended to serve those occupationally involved in subjects it covers and through the publication of timely and reliable information in several formats.

Technical papers describe and interpret the results of original investigations. They are significant in their findings and increase the body of knowledge upon which decision-making and policy are based. Of particular interest are topics that are relevant to science and technology issues and problems emerging from contemporary directions in regulatory policy-making.

Notebook papers offer a forum for rapid disclosure of new technical or administrative studies, or for significant comment on previously published papers. Publication of a Notebook paper will not preclude later consideration of a technical paper on the subject. If the Notebook paper is a comment on a previously published paper, the Notebook paper will be published with a reply from the author(s) of the previously published paper.

Review papers synthesize existing research and define problems to be addressed by future research. Reviews should be critical in nature while noting the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of current knowledge.

All papers submitted for consideration in the Journal are subject to a minimum of two external peer reviews.

Guidelines for Editorial Decisions

The Journal encourages the submission of manuscripts based on original research that are judged to make a novel and important contribution to understanding the molecular and cellular basis of biological processes. Manuscripts that fall outside these editorial guidelines may be declined without full review.

Ethics

As a condition of publication, all authors must transfer copyright to the Journal. Manuscripts submitted under multiple authorship are reviewed on the assumption that all listed authors concur in the submission and that the final version has been seen and approved by all authors.

Allegations of fraud or misconduct - be they violations of the standard norms for publishing original research, publication without approval of all authors, plagiarism, republication of data used previously without acknowledgement, or inappropriate graphics manipulation - will be investigated thoroughly. If, after due process involving the Journal editors, editorial staff and the Journal Publications Committee, a paper is found to contain ethical violations, it will be rejected or withdrawn and the matter referred to institutional officials.

Authors of papers published in the Journal are obligated to honor any reasonable request by qualified investigators for unique propagative materials that are described in the paper. If computer software programs are developed and used in submitted manuscripts, the programs must be made available to the reviewer upon request. The source code or the program must be made available, either commercially or in downloadable form from the authors, if the manuscript is accepted for publication. The Editors may deny further publication rights in the journal to authors unwilling to abide by these principles.

Publication Policy

Submission of a manuscript implies that the work described has not been published (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis); that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; and that its publication has been approved by all coauthors and the responsible authorities at the institute where the work was conducted. Submission also implies that the authors have already obtained all necessary permissions for the inclusion of copyrighted materials, such as figures and tables from other publications. Previously published work will not be considered for publication. TheJournal will, however, accept manuscripts based on presentations made at conferences sponsored by the Journal, at the discretion of the Technical Editor-in-Chief.

Page Proofs

Before a manuscript is published, the corresponding or primary author will be required to review and approve page proofs of the manuscript. (Authors will be contacted by e-mail when their proofs are available in PDF format for downloading and printing.) Authors are responsible for checking their proofs for accuracy and for clearly marking any corrections on the proofs. Please note that only major errors can be corrected at the page proof stage. The Journal team assumes no responsibility for data or text errors printed in the Journal if authors do not correct such errors on their proofs. Failure to return proofs promptly, as outlined in instructions provided with the proofs, may delay publication of the manuscript.

Copyright Requirements

If a manuscript is accepted for publication, the authors must agree to reassign the copyright of that manuscript to the Journal (Note: this does not apply to government employees). This allows the Association to perform all standard supplementary functions of publishing inherent to information dissemination, including selling or redistributing reprints, granting to third parties permission for reproducing or reprinting articles, handling requests from abstracting and information centers, and publishing articles online. Note: It is the authors' responsibility to obtain all necessary permissions for the inclusion of copyrighted materials, such as figures and tables from other publications, prior to submitting a manuscript for consideration.

Page Charges and Reprints

Papers published in the Journal are subject to page charges. Payment must be received before manuscripts can be published. In lieu of hardcopy reprints, primary authors will receive a PDF copy of the published paper for limited distribution—rights and limitations will be conveyed along with PDF. Authors interested in hardcopy reprints in booklet format may order them using the form included on the standard page charge invoice (which is e-mailed with proof copies of the manuscript), or by calling the Journal's main office.